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Do you remember what happened during last year’s holiday season? Huge storms struck the nation and planes were taken out of the air. Many people spent their holidays stuck in an airport. It was the same story the year before that and the one before that as well. We can’t do anything to change the weather but we can make some changes to our travel plans to minimize the likelihood that we’ll be trapped in an airport during the holidays.

One of the best (and easiest) things that we can do to avoid travel complications during the holidays is to give ourselves plenty of time. Whether you are flying or driving to reach your family during the holidays, you don’t want to do it last minute. Take the extra time off of work and leave well in advance of the day that you want to arrive. If you’re really lucky, everything will go smoothly and you’ll get a few extra days with the family. If not, at least you should reach your destination before the holiday–despite the delays.

If you can’t get away for the holidays before the last minute, you can still do a few things to avoid delays at the airport. First, make plans with your family in advance to select a destination more conducive to easy travel. This could mean that it’s a city you can drive to instead of flying. Or it might just mean that you all go to your sister’s in Arizona instead of your parents’ house in Maine because it’s not nearly as likely that you’ll be unable to land in Arizona because of the weather.

If you can’t adjust your destination and you’re going to be traveling at the last minute, the least that you can do is to select a good flight. This means choosing a good airline and a good time of day for flying. Get the first flight out in the morning if at all possible. That way, even if you’re delayed, you may still be able to get on a plane that same day. And go with an airline that has a history of on-time performance during the holidays. As you can see from the chart here, the top five airlines are Aloha, Hawaiian, Delta, Southwest and Air Tran. Poor choices include SkyWest, American Eagle, Jet Blue, Alaska and Northwest airlines.

(Photo via flickr cc)